Giger, H.R. Books

H. R. Giger's Biomechanics

H. R. Giger

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Good introduction to his more complicated works 5 out of 5 stars.
17 of 35 people found this review helpful.

This was the first book of his that I bought. It is very well done like all the rest. It is a good book to get your "feet wet" and to decide if you want to go any further into his work. I liked it very much, and recommend it as an introduction.

Alien among us 4 out of 5 stars.
15 of 19 people found this review helpful.

Hans Rudi Giger, a direct descendant of Hieronymus Bosch, H.P. Lovecraft and Salvador Dali, is a unique artist whose works depict cosmological visions and nightmarish dream-state revelations. As you leaf through the glorious illustrations in 'H.R. Giger's Biomechanics', you begin to realize that it takes a deviant personality to create deviant art of this caliber. The kind of paintings on display here are something nobody could conceive without total 24/7 commitment to unleashing the subconscious for all the world to see.

Nowadays of course, H. R. Giger's style (coined 'biomechanical') has become commonplace, trivialized; you can observe his influence in computer-game graphics, movies, literature, interior design, architecture... And isn't that the greatest compliment to his work, the horde of imitators living proof that Giger has tapped into something deep for which there was no adequate vocabulary before him. It probably resided there before the genus homo existed, somewhere in the spinal cord, in the first primate dreams.

What none of HRG's imitators have reached, is his unrivaled, casual mastery of the airbrush. For HRG often uses the surrealist method, whereby his paintings are not consciously planned but rather organically grown and given the freedom to invade the canvas - an inordinately challenging modus operandi considering Giger's weapon of choice. The works of the imitators betray their predesigned origin in wavering use of the airbrush, in naively copied Giger motifs. The sycophants have no mastery over the vocabulary, method, or the medium.

Presenting HRG's artworks in roughly chronological order, 'Biomechanics' charts the evolution of the biomechanical style from the first ink drawings from the 1960s to the acrylic paintings of the late 1980s. The master's 'commentary track' runs the length of the book, explaining the impetus behind major works, such as the 'N.Y. City' series and 'Erotomechanics'. You can practically feel HRG's exitement as he details the first experiments with the airbrush. The airbrush was originally a tool for photo retouching, which remained its primary use for decades, but in the hands of HRG it turned into a weapon capable of transmuting Freudian and Jungian theories on sexual perversions into photorealistic imagery.

Designs on 'Alien' and 'Poltergeist II' are examples of how effortlessly HRG crosses the boundary between 2D and 3D, painting and sculpture. They also reveal his background as a student of architecture and industrial design at the Zurich School of Applied Arts.

Well, either you 'get it' or you don't. There are people who instinctively recognize the worth in HRG's art. If you are the sort of person who requires a rational basis for purchasing 'Biomechanics', suffice it to say that the influence of these works is so widespread that failure to trace that influence back to the source reveals a profound ignorance on contemporary visual culture.

Editorial Review:

Swiss fantasist H.R.Giger conducts you through his diverse alien landscapes, inhabited by the spectral offspring of his vivid dreams and darkest nightmares.

Giger (Basic Art)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Amazing 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

H.R. Hiher is definately one of the greatest artists of our time. His images transcend time and space and provoke so many thoughts using beautifully crafted mechanical landscapes and disturbing robot-like human specimens.

Editorial Review:

Giger's multi-faceted career - From surrealistic dream landscapes, to album cover designs, and sculpture

For the last three decades H.R. Giger has reigned as one of the leading exponents of fantastic art. Born in Chur, Switzerland, in 1940, he studied interior and industrial design for eight years at the School of Commercial Art in Zurich (1962-1970), but was soon gaining attention as an independent artist, with endeavors ranging from surrealistic dream landscapes created with a spray gun and stencils, to album cover designs for famous pop stars, and sculpture.

In addition, Giger's multi-faceted career includes designing two bars, located in Tokyo and Chur, as well as work on various film projects - his creation of the set design and title figure for Ridley Scott's film Alien won him not only international fame but also an Oscar for Best Achievement for Visual Effects (1980).

"The more famous I get, the more I am tolerated, albeit with some head-shaking." H.R. Giger

WWW HR Giger Com (25 Spring)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A worthy addition to an art library. 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I picked up this book at my local Borders. I was there on a whim, browsing the art section, when I saw this gem. After noting the VERY attractive price, I decided on the spot it had to come home with me, as I'm a fan of Giger's work.

As I perused this volume, I fell in love with more than just the art (admittedly, Giger is just not to everyone's taste...if you're not a Giger fan, then this book and this review will do nothing for you, and it's not an attempt to convince you to otherwise). Designed and penned by Giger, it contains prints of finished art and sketches, photographs, selected images from Giger's personal collection of art (that is, art by other people that he collects)--which I think is VERY insightful; it's interesting to see what kind of art an artist appreciates.

As an artist, myself, I revel in the collections of sketches... Sketches can be a chronicle of how a finished work comes to be, and it's interesting to get a glimpse of how other artists--especially masters, such as Giger--work through their ideas and arrive at a final product. Sometimes sketches are just a fleeting idea that gets caught on a page. These are just as fascinating, because they are an insight into how an artist captures a thought and translates it into something visual. Excellent stuff!

Another detail I want to elaborate on are the "3D" versions of a few of Giger's paintings. I hesitate to say "Magic Eye", because those are often horribly muddy, chaotic and nonsensical when viewed normally, and the Giger images in this section are not at all like that. These images are crisply defined and look "normal" at a glance, but nevertheless have that 3D "popping" effect when you view them correctly. Of course, they're accompanied by commentary from Giger. It's an unexpected and delightful treasure to find tucked away in these pages.

Overall, if you're a fan of Giger's work, this is a very worthy addition to your collection. I've poked around, and there are other versions of this title available, some of which are very limited (and expensive) editions. If you haven't the luxury of purchasing one of those, this "no frills" edition is still very solid, and will be a pleasure to thumb through again and again.

Editorial Review:

HR Giger first received acclaim in the 1960s with his airbrushed fantasy landscapes. However, he scored his breakthrough in applied art, and particularly in his high-profile movie work on Ridley Scott's Alien. In 1980, he received an Oscar for "Best Achievement for Visual Effects" for his designs of the film's title creature and its otherworldly environment.

His other celebrated film projects include Poltergeist II, Alien 3 and Species, for which he designed a deadly but beautiful half-extraterrestrial female creature and a fantastic nightmare train. Giger's album covers for Debbie Harry and Emerson, Lake and Palmer were voted as being among the top hundred in music history by music journalists, while furniture designed by Giger graces a bar in Chur, Switzerland.

HR Giger (Icons)

H R Giger, Stanislav Grof M.D. Ph.D.

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

To the last ignorant review 5 out of 5 stars.
15 of 19 people found this review helpful.

just because some art explores sex does not mean it is "porn". I love the rampant abundance of ignorance in this country. Giger is an amazing artist, if you have not experienced his work than you are surely missing out on some of the most ORIGINAL artwork of this time.

an awesome book 5 out of 5 stars.
13 of 14 people found this review helpful.

this is a great way to get introduced to Giger's work. I would recomend The Necronomicon to follow up this book and watch any of the Alien films to see how Giger's work has influenced Hollywood. Its also an extremely good price.

Fabulous and Fascinating 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 7 people found this review helpful.

Although not for the weak at heart, Giger explores the dark reaches of his soul and shares it to the world through his paintings. From there, one can begin to see the alien born in each of us.

Best Giger For the Budget 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 8 people found this review helpful.

ok, there are indeed some very odd pictures that explore sex, but oh well. this book is a pure work of art, different and grand.

H R Giger Cufflinks Anyone...? 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Alien was a great movie and all...but, come on...H R Giger is essentially nothing more than the Thomas Kincaid of grotesque dark fantasy. How many smoothly contoured robot babes slathered in amniotic fluid can you see before it just starts to seem DULL, DULL, DULL...

Editorial Review:

Giger hand has fathered some of the most remarkable creatures in recent memory including the creatures in Ridley Scott's film Allen. This pocket-sized book highlights his best work.

H. R. Giger's Retrospective: 1964-1984

H. R. Giger

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Are you ready for these nightmare visions...? 5 out of 5 stars.
19 of 19 people found this review helpful.

...H. R. Giger has been a fave of mine for years--even before "Alien" and "Species". I was silently pleased when some of his work was lent to medium other than the sci-fi and slick 'zines he was noted for doing--deb harry's solo project's album cover, for one. These are visions of biological organisms as mechanisms and of architecture as anatomy with, for instance, veins and sinews as electrical conduits and potable water lines and sewers as ligaments and ribs and tissue...living organisms have a mechanical metallic sheen, bridges and sewers and scaffolds have mouths and faces and deformed bodies that may be human or may not...they are sensuous at times, horrific at other times, but they all are bold and eye-catching modern art...it is almost like he has vision of a nightmare future...see how he's developed his style throughout the years in this great, great book...

Editorial Review:

More than 150 artworks, spanning 20 years in the career of the world's most renowned artist of the fantastical and the surreal, are gathered in one volume, rich with detail and color. Carefully rendered reproductions of Giger's best paintings are accompanied by his own commentary. 70 color illus. 75 b&w illus. 25 b&w photos.

HR GIGER ARh+

H. R. Giger

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Great introduction to the modern surrealist master 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.

This book is an excellent brief introduction to the life and art of H.R. Giger. It features plates of some of his most well-known works, as well as examples of his sketches, pen and inks, and other media. For someone who has taken an interest in Giger, but is not ready to invest in his larger, more complete books, this is a perfect starting point.

Another excellent show of H.R. Giger's imaginary art. 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 8 people found this review helpful.

If you just like flipping through art books for their pictures, this is a definte one that will keep you flippin' through the pictures. Another excellent look at how Giger views things.

Visual intensity 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Giger's work has incredible visual impact. He was the designer for the first Alien movie. He created that ambiguity of biota and machine. This book, with less concern for censorship, drives those images far beyond what the theaters can accept.

I read this book with a choked fascination. Giger uses all of his technical mastery in depicting landscapes of torment, eroticism, deformity, and beauty. This world is peopled by multiple beings, fused by birth, by force, or by carnality. His work reminds me of Druillet, where every scene is packed from edge to edge with bizarre detail. Giger goes beyond Druillet with his realistic style, making his monochrome worlds so much more convincing.

Although the Amazon web site lists Timothy Leary as a co-author, he just provides a one-page introduction. It's good, and it's Leary, but Leary fans shouldn't get their hopes up too far.

If you like Giger's work, as I do, this is an incredible collection. (If the imagery is too much for you, I understand.)This book also provides autobiographical notes, but I take those about as seriously as I take Salvador Dali's. It's the pictures that matter.

//wiredweird

The 2010 H.R. Giger Calendar

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Editorial Review:

Swiss artist and film designer H. R. Giger’s talent for merging alien elegance with erotic mystery has made him the most popular fantasy/sci-fi artist in the world. The latest edition of this popular calendar presents 12 gorgeous, large-format images of Giger’s most recent paintings and sculptures, along with several previously unseen works and examples of his most popular creations. The calendar grids are color-matched to each month’s painting and set against a deep black background, imparting an air of mystery and elegance to this remarkable collection of fantasy art.

HR Giger ARh+: 30 Postcards (Postcardbooks)

Taschen Publishing

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A Good Sampling of The Artist's Work 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Giger is the artist who created the creature for "Alien" movie. If you like "gothic", creepy, spooky (little bit) style, probably you will also like the creatures that he draws. I would consider this collection of postcards a good bargain for a sampling of his works. But how appropriate are these cards for mailing out to friends is another question. Maybe it is better as keepsake or collection rather than goodwill (hard to imagine) postcards.

Gigers postcards 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

this is so brillant it shows somw of his best work it is really worth getting

The 2009 H. R. Giger Calendar

H. R. Giger

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Excellent calendar! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

H.R. Giger always produces such beautiful calendars, and this year, he made sure to not disappoint! The artwork in Giger's 2009 calendar is great.

Editorial Review:

Widely considered the most popular sci-fi/fantasy artist in the world, H. R. Giger is known for his singular ability to meticulously render horrific yet irresistible otherworlds, complete with curious biomorphic figures engaging in mysterious melodramas. Harlan Ellison has called the famous Swiss artist and film designer “our latter-day Hieronymus Bosch,” a judgment confirmed by the new edition of this beautifully designed calendar. Giger’s singular blend of the demonic and the erotic is well-displayed in these 12 large-format works. The calendar grids are printed in colors matching the work for that month, and they are set against a deep black background that foregrounds Giger’s highly detailed, elegant approach to his craft. This year’s edition of the calendar features a number of previously unpublished images — of both paintings and sculptures — while also showcasing some old favorites from this modern master.

H.R. Giger (Portfolio (Taschen))

H R Giger

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Editorial Review:

H. R. Giger is recognized as one of the world's foremost artists of Fantastic Realism. This portfolio includes 14 reproductions.